GlacialTech Altair A381

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 4 expert reviews

Excellent:

2
Good:

1
Average:

0
Bad:

1

Pros:

Build Quality, Innovation, LED Fans, iMon, Warranty, Price, PreInstalled PSU
Supports wide range of motherboards, iMon module, Slim design, Media reader, Remote and HTPC software included
Beautiful and sleek design, Incorporated VFD display with media control buttons and volume knob will blend in with all your other components, Fairly quiet included cooling and PSU, It's built tiny but can still house a fullsize ATX motherboard and up.

Cons:

Door covering the card reader/front ports seems like it was an afterthought that wasn't incorporated very well, Front buttons are a little flimsy and cheap feeling
PCI riser is not include and hard to get half height card, Ventilation need to be improved further, It could be expensive for certain people

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Last revision on December 20, 2010

Reviewers Liked

Build Quality, Innovation, LED Fans, iMon, Warranty, Price, PreInstalled PSU
Supports wide range of motherboards, iMon module, Slim design, Media reader, Remote and HTPC software included
Beautiful and sleek design, Incorporated VFD display with media control buttons and volume knob will blend in with all your other components, Fairly quiet included cooling and PSU, It's built tiny but can still house a fullsize ATX motherboard and up
Aluminum front bezel, Comes with great functionality remote control, Support up to ATX & EATX motherboard, Support great software; iMON, Comes with VFD display for iMON & VFD models, comes with card reader, front USB and audio jack for easy accessing

Reviewers Didn't Like

Door covering the card reader/front ports seems like it was an afterthought that wasn't incorporated very well, Front buttons are a little flimsy and cheap feeling
PCI riser is not include and hard to get half height card, Ventilation need to be improved further, It could be expensive for certain people

Expert reviews and ratings

Regardless of my gripes about the iMons physical installation, the solution works beautifully once the software is installed. Your system magically displays pertinent tasks on your current activities. Play a DVD, and the display shows the title...

By OCModShop on January 18, 2009

The Glacial Tech Altair A381 does meet a few of the requirement for any HTPC setup. It has plenty of expansions. Two 3.5’’ hard drive slots, four expansion slots, and two PCI riser slots, should be plenty for a decent HTPC setup. In...

By Bjorn3D on January 02, 2009

Altair A381 is the latest HTPC casing from GlacialTech and it has great improvement over the older version and we hope to see continuous improvement and enhancement for next upcoming HTPC casing from GlacialTech like fully aluminum casing. Overall...

By Hardware Bistro on November 24, 2008

The Altair A381 is not a case you would buy just to upgrade the housing of an existing PC. It’s something that you would purchase with a Media Center PC in mind and then buy everything else around it. Like I said in the begriming of the review,...

By TechwareLabs on February 20, 2009

The GlacialTech Altair A381 provides quite a large room for an HTPC with two 3.5 hard drive slots, four low profile card slots, one 5.25 slot, it can house mATX, ATX, e-ATX motherboards and it includes a almost silent 270W...

By Real World Labs on February 18, 2009

For a little over $200US the GlacialTech A381 is a great all-in-one HTPC case solution. The case itself has a great design and build quality that's sure to catch the eye. The incorporated VFD display, front control buttons and included remote will...

By DreamWare Computers on December 23, 2008

At first I want to thank the Glacialtech representatives for providing me the Altair A381 HTPC case sample for testing and reviewing.About the Glacialtech Company(taken from the company website)GlacialTech Inc. was established in June 2001 by a team...

By PCShopTalk on December 06, 2008

Altair A381 iMON es la última caja HTPC de GlacialTech y trae consigo una gran mejora en comparación a versiones anteriores y esperamos que esta tendencia de cara a la próxima caja HTPC de GlacialTech, como por ejemplo utilizando...

By Traficantes de Hardware on February 08, 2009

Nell'attuale scenario di mercato le console sono evolute dall'essere un semplice strumento di gioco ad una soluzione per l'intrattenimento a tutto tondo: l'elevata potenza elaborativa al loro interno, e la struttura sempre più...

By Hardware Upgrade on February 06, 2009

El modelo Altair A381 resulta una evolución evidente del anterior, tanto en estética como en aspecto exterior y espacio interior. Esto último es lo que más ha mejorado, ya que la caja externamente no es mucho más grande que la...

By Noticias 3D on January 17, 2009

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